Category: Philippines

“The dedicated efforts of the members of the Movement have not only advanced the process towards lasting peace in their communities, but have also inspired many people around the world with an example of true dialogue based on spirituality,” the award-giving body said in a statement. D’Ambra said the Award is a “recognition” of the organization’s concerted efforts to help end the patchwork of conflicts in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao involving Islamic and Communist rebels over the past 30 years. Started with a group of Muslim and Christian friends, D’Ambra has seen the Movement’s peace-building and dialogue activities grow steadily. It is also involved in sustainable agriculture, environmental advocacy and holistic healthcare. Silsilah, an Arabic word which means ‘chain’ or ‘link,’ implies “spritual linkage of humanity as created by the same God,” said D’Ambra. The organization will receive the Award at a ceremony to be held during this year’s Goi Peace Foundation Forum in Tokyo in November.   

Tomoo Hozumi, UNICEF country representative, said he expects the return on the investment in childhood learning to be “extremely high.” He cited a recent study which shows that every dollar spent on early childhood care and development (ECCD) returns as much as $12 on the value of human development. Hozumi also said that investing in the most disadvantaged children is “justifiable, first and foremost, from the viewpoint of human rights.”  Teresita Inciong, ECCD Council head, said early childhood education will improve the country’s high dropout rate. “Ages from zero to four years old are crucial for brain development and it’s irreversible if we fail to catch up,” she said at the launch of the project in Quezon City. The project will be implemented by UNICEF with the Departments of Social Welfare, Education and ECCD. Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman said that the project will focus on children who are in the most disadvantaged condition, especially those trapped in the conflicts in Mindanao. The project will also help the government establish more day care centers on isolated islands as well as relocation sites for displaced children, she added. The country has only 45,000 day care centers, most of them managed by day care staff who earn a meager allowance of about $12 a month.  

Maramakami and his wife have since moved to Tacloban, a developing city in Leyte province, in a bid to find a more stable source of income. “There is no more money in the sea, no more fish to hunt, and diving in deep waters for a few coins was getting tiring. It was no longer attractive – my wife also didn’t like it.” Theirs is a vicious cycle which is common among sea gypsies, an ethnic minority here. Mainly based in Mindanao, an island to the south, many of the country’s estimated half a million sea gypsies are leaving their homes as their way of life – based around fishing – is slowly disappearing. The Internal Displacement Monitoring Center of Norway has reported that more than a quarter of million people were displaced in Mindanao between January and October last year alone, almost all due to conflict and natural disasters.  The degrading Philippine coastline also plays a part in this migration. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has reported that 10 out of 13 fishing grounds in the country are heavily exploited due to illegal and unregulated fishing off this archipelago. Home to the second largest reef system in Asia, only 4% of this marine habitat in the Philippines remains in excellent condition, BFAR says. “About 1.2 million jobs in the fishing, tourism and food sectors would be directly affected by poor ocean management,” says Vince Cinches of Greenpeace Southeast Asia. Maramakami says Cebu became overrun with other sea gypsies diving for coins near the port. Earnings inevitably shrank. That’s why he again moved on to Tacloban where he goes door–to–door selling trinkets – necklaces, bracelets and earrings made of seashells and other materials mostly taken from the sea, the only source of livelihood he has known. “We’ll continue roaming until we have a permanent place where our future is secured,” he says. He earns between 150 and 200 pesos (US$3.75 and $5) per day. But there are many sea gypsies living in Tacloban who beg for a living, he adds. “They don’t have much in the way of an education to get a job.” Still in his mid–20’s, Marakami and his wife are among the lucky few sea gypsies to have received a small plot of land from the government just outside of Tacloban in the town of Isabel. “I haven’t thought of my future children yet,” he says. “For now, the important thing is that the two of us survive each day.”  

The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, have launched a joint US$18 million project to help about four million poor children in six Philippine cities. Entitled “Early Learning for Life,” the project will operate in targeted areas of high need across the country.

Kevin Maramakami met his wife Marikita when they both scratched out a living in Cebu. They would make ends meet by diving to the bottom of the bay in search of coins thrown over the side by arriving and departing passengers of ships. Known as Badjao, or sea gypsies, this couple came together after leaving their home in Mindanao.

The Bukas Palad Award was originally named after Fr. Manuel Peypoch, a Jesuit who taught at the Ateneo de Manila and distinguished himself in serving the Jesuit Order, the Church and society in the areas of education and culture, in social and human development concerns. The Award was first given, in 1963, to Msgr. José Jovellanos. It was renamed BUKAS PALAD AWARD to “capture the Ignatian spirit of “generosity” and to give recognition to the unconditional, dedicated service of the Religious in Christ’s Kingdom. Motivated by Gospel values, [the awardee’s] “notable and invaluable contribution is an unmistakable evidence beyond the ordinary of an understanding of the prophetic role of the Church in today’s world and giving tangible proofs of this in the service given to his/her fellowmen, especially the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized, the sick, the suffering – in faith, justice and love.”  The award to Fr. Sebastiano is in recognition of his founding of the Silsilah Dialogue Movement “which helped plant the seeds of interreligious dialogue in the Philippines, particularly, in Mindanao, and nurturing and spreading them through leadership roles in the interreligious dialogue thrusts of Pontifical Institute for Foreign Mission (PIME) and the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).” In his acceptance speech, Fr. Sebastiano expressed his deep gratitude to the Ateneo for the award and he said: “It is not just an honor but a responsibility to fulfill.” He added he shares the award with every Christian and Muslim in Mindanao who are committed to the mission of dialogue and peace. Further, he said: “Many are not ready for peace… peace must be sincere. In the deeper part of the conscience of each person, there is goodness. In dialogue, we have to reach that level. It is like a soil; you allow putting some elements just for the seed to grow. This is a movement, not an NGO in the usual sense; it is a movement and we want to stress this point. Thanks be to God that there are people entering in this spirit.” Fr. Sebastiano is a native of Sicily, Italy. He was assigned to the Philippines in 1977. He founded the Silsilah Dialogue Movement in 1984. The Movement marked its 25th anniversary in May, 2009. Over the 26 years of its existence, Silsilah has focused its efforts and resources on the promotion of dialogue, to bring people to a greater awareness of and faithfulness to what is taught in their respective religions. Because Christians and Muslims are the two dominant groups in this part of the country, Silsilah focuses on the promotion of dialogue between these two groups – in the hope that the understanding born of dialogue will bring out the fruit of peace in the region. 

In the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao, only 40% of children complete primary school, against the national average of 75%, while younger-than-five mortality remains three times as high as the national rate.  In August 2008, renewed hostilities between government forces and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) broke out when a memorandum, that would have given the MILF control over land they claimed as ancestral domain, was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, resulting in more than 700,000 displaced. According to the International Organization for Migration, close to 83,000 people remain displaced due to conflict or clan violence, also known as Rido.  

The climate of violence, lawlessness and impunity makes life difficult for the people of Mindanao. The incident of kidnapping and barbaric execution of 57 people in the province of Maguindanao has gained the attention of the international press. Philippine President Gloria Arroyo declared Martial Law (lifted after eight days) in the southern provinces of Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, and Cotabato City allegedly to prevent further violence among the clans (especially among the Mangudadatu and Ampatuan, long-time rivals). Thousands of soldiers have been deployed and the Government has assured that they will make “every effort to punish those responsible with utmost rigor.”  But the issue is upstream, according to Fr. Eliseo Mercado of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Professor at Notre Dame of Cotabato and well-informed on the area of Mindanao: “There is no doubt that the proliferation of illegal small arms in southern Philippines is the main problem, which contributes to an increase in the number of wounded and dead, to human rights violations, and to fueling the war between rival gangs.”  The point is that even the civilians have begun to arm themselves to defend themselves from the violence that abounds. It is estimated that over 1.1 million illegal weapons without license are in circulation in the Philippines, a large majority of the percentage being in the South. In addition, there are 1.8 million legally held weapons in the entire nation. According to data from the police, 97% of crimes recorded between 2004 and 2008 were committed using illegal weapons. “It’s a phenomenon that helps to create instability and deteriorates peace and public order,” notes Fr. Mercado.  Recently, the government issued an “amnesty” in which the owners of illegal weapons that had them registered would not incur penalties. But the results were not satisfactory, indicating that most of the weapons are in the hands of criminal gangs. “This is an important issue that the new legislators and the new government (elections are in 2010) must urgently address,” notes the missionary. “It is the future and social peace in Mindanao.”  The world’s biggest exporter of small arms is the United States, from whence come the vast majority of the weapons found in the Philippines. Recently, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton publicly declared that its government will work to stop the proliferation of small arms in the world. “It is a position we welcome, hoping that it could affect the plight of the Southern Philippines,” said Father Mercado.